This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2002-42767, filed Jul. 20, 2002, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bread maker, and more particularly, to a bread maker that automatically returns a rotatable kneader to a kneading position when the door of the bread maker is closed.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 5, a bread maker disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 2000-83355 includes a main body 101 forming an oven compartment 110, a door 103 opening and closing the oven compartment 110, and a control panel 102 provided in a front side of the main body 101 allowing a user to control the bread maker.
Inside the oven compartment 110, upper and lower kneading drums 111 and 112 are rotatably provided in parallel, on which opposite ends of a mixing bag (not shown) filled with raw materials (ingredients) for bread are attached and wound in clockwise and counterclockwise directions. At a lower inside portion of the oven compartment 110, between the upper and lower kneading drums 111 and 112, is a baking tray 104 that is capable of being withdrawn outside the bread maker and contains kneaded dough therein.
Between the upper kneading drum 111 and the baking tray 104 are a fixed kneader 113 and a rotatable kneader 114 forming a pair. The fixed and rotatable kneaders 113 and 114 knead the dough in the mixing bag and prevent the dough from moving to the upper kneading drum 111. The fixed kneader 113 has a first kneading roller along a lengthwise direction thereof, which faces the rotatable kneader 114 and contacts the mixing bag. The rotatable kneader 114 has a second kneading roller along a lengthwise direction thereof, which faces the fixed kneader 113 and contacts the mixing bag.
In the conventional bread maker, when the mixing bag is to be installed on the upper kneading drum 111, the second kneading roller of the rotatable kneader 114 is first rotated downwards to leave a space between the fixed kneader 113 and the rotatable kneader 114. Thereafter, the mixing bag is attached to the upper kneading drum 111, and the rotatable kneader 114 is returned to its initial position, (i.e., a kneading position). If the dough is kneaded with the rotatable kneader 114 not in the kneading position, the dough in the mixing bag is not successfully kneaded and also moves to the upper kneading drum 111. However, a user is likely to carelessly forget to return the rotatable kneader 114 to the kneading position.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bread maker in which a rotatable kneader is automatically returned to a kneading position when the door of the bread maker is closed.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
To achieve the above and other objects according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a bread maker having a main body forming an oven compartment, a door opening and closing the oven compartment, a fixed kneader in the oven compartment with a first kneading roller contacting a mixing bag, and a rotatable kneader in the oven compartment with a second kneading roller, the rotatable roller rotating between a kneading position at which the first kneading roller and the second kneading roller face each other with the mixing bag therebetween, and a released position at which the second kneading roller is spaced apart from the first kneading roller. A spring has a first end attached to a side wall of the oven compartment and a second end coupled to the rotatable kneader, and elastically returns the rotatable kneader to the kneading position as the door is closed and elastically maintains the rotatable kneader at the released position when the door is opened; and a pusher on an inside surface of the door pushes the rotatable kneader from the released position to the kneading position as the door is closed.
The bread maker further includes a rotatable arm connecting the spring and the rotatable kneader.
To achieve the above and other objects according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kneader for a bread maker having a main body forming an oven compartment and a door opening and closing the oven compartment. The kneader includes a fixed kneader in the oven compartment having a first kneading roller; a rotatable kneader in the oven compartment having a second kneading roller and being rotatable between a kneading position and a released position, the kneading position being a position at which the first kneading roller and the second kneading roller face one another to knead a mixing bag filled with bread ingredients placed therebetween, and the released position being a position at which the second kneading roller is spaced apart from the first kneading roller; and an elastic member having a first end attached to a side wall of the oven compartment and a second end attached to the rotatable kneader, and elastically maintaining the rotatable kneader at the released position when the door is opened and the rotatable kneader is rotated away from the fixed kneader, and elastically returning the rotatable kneader to the kneading position as the door is closed.
To achieve the above and other objects according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kneading assembly for a bread maker having a main body forming an oven compartment and a door opening and closing the oven compartment. The kneading assembly includes a fixed kneader in the oven compartment; a rotatable kneader in the oven compartment adjacent the fixed kneader and being rotatable between a kneading position and a released position, the kneading position being a position at which the rotatable kneader and the fixed kneader face one another to knead a mixing bag filled with bread ingredients placed therebetween, and the released position being a position at which the rotatable kneader is rotated away from the fixed kneader; a pusher on an inside surface of the door to push the rotatable kneader from the released position when the door is opened to the kneading position as the door is closed; and an elastic member having a first end attached to a side wall of the oven compartment and a second end attached to the rotatable kneader, the elastic member elastically maintaining the rotatable kneader at the released position when the door is opened and the rotatable kneader is rotated away from the fixed kneader, and elastically returning the rotatable kneader to the kneading position as the door is closed and the pusher pushes the rotatable kneader to the kneading position.
These together with other aspects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.